BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 231|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 231
Author: Huber (D)
Amended: 8/9/10 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE ENV. QUALITY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 8/2/10
AYES: Simitian, Corbett, Hancock, Lowenthal, Strickland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not relevant
SUBJECT : Environment: California Environmental Quality
Act:
overriding consideration
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill, under California Environmental
Quality Act, authorizes a lead agency, until January 1,
2016, to rely on a finding of overriding consideration made
in a prior environmental impact report for a later project
if certain conditions are met, including if the lead agency
determines that the later project's significant impacts on
the environment are not greater than or different from
those identified in the prior environmental impact report
from which the project is tiered.
ANALYSIS :
CONTINUED
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Existing law, under the California Environmental Quality
Act (CEQA):
1. Requires lead agencies with the principal responsibility
for carrying out or approving a proposed project to
prepare a negative declaration, mitigated declaration,
or environmental impact report (EIR) for this action,
unless the project is exempt from CEQA (CEQA includes
various statutory exemptions, as well as categorical
exemptions in the CEQA guidelines).
2. Requires a lead agency to examine significant
environmental effects of a project by using a tiered EIR
if a prior EIR has been prepared and certified for a
program, plan, policy, or ordinance, and the later
project meets certain requirements. The tiered EIR on
the later project need not examine effects that were
either mitigated or avoided as a result of the prior
EIR, or examined at a sufficient level of detail in the
prior EIR to enable those effects to be mitigated or
avoided by site specific revisions, imposition of
conditions, or other means in connection with approval
of the later project.
3. Prohibits a public agency from approving or carrying out
a project for which an EIR has been certified that
identifies one or more significant effects on the
environment that would occur if the project is approved
or carried out unless the public agency makes one or
more of the following findings with respect to each
significant effect:
A. Changes or alterations have been required in, or
incorporated into, the project to mitigate or avoid
the significant environmental effects.
B. Changes or alterations are the responsibility of
another public agency and have been, or can and
should be, adopted by that other agency.
C. Specific economic, legal, social, technological,
or other considerations make infeasible the
mitigation measures or alternatives identified in
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the EIR. With respect to this finding, the public
agency also finds that specific overriding
economic, legal, social, technological, or other
benefits outweigh the significant environmental
effects.
This bill authorizes a lead agency for a project to rely on
a finding of overriding if all of the following conditions
are met:
A. The lead agency determines that the project's
significant impacts on the environment are not
greater than or different from those identified in
the prior environmental impact report.
B. The lead agency incorporates into the later
project all the applicable mitigation measures
identified by the prior environmental impact
report.
C. The prior statement of overriding considerations
was not based on a determination that mitigation
measures should be identified and approved in a
subsequent environmental review.
D. The prior environmental impact report was
certified not more than three years before the date
findings are made pursuant to Section 21081 for the
later project.
E. Section 21166 does not apply to the prior
environmental impact report.
This bill specifies that a lead agency, on or after January
1, 2016, a lead agency may not take action with regard to
relying on a finding of overriding consideration made in a
prior environmental impact report which shall become
inoperative on that date.
Comments
According to the author's office, "If a lead agency adopts
a statement of overriding consideration for an
environmental impact when it does an EIR on a General Plan
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(or other plan, policy or ordinance), that same finding of
overriding consideration may be used for any specific
project that creates the same adverse environmental impact,
provided the impact is not greater or different at the
project level than at the plan level. In other words, the
project may tier off the statement of overriding
consideration at the plan level."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
TSM:do 8/17/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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